The palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday disowned a claim by a man in a viral video, who said the monarch was his father.
A video of a grown man claiming to be a son to the monarch went viral on social media.
The man threatened to storm the palace in two weeks, if the Ooni refused to make public his identity to the palace, to reclaim his rightful place.
However, a statement by the monarch’s spokesperson, Moses Olafare, said the man in the viral video engaged in an act of impersonation, noting that the matter had been reported to the security agencies for further action.
Olafare said Oba Ogunwusi, being a responsible father and custodian of tradition, knew and acknowledged all his children and would stop at nothing to take full responsibility for them.
He declared that the self-acclaimed prince was unknown to the palace and the Ile-Ife populace.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to an amateur video clip featuring a grown-up individual claiming to be a son of our father, Arole Oodua Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja ll, the Ooni of Ife, virally trending across various online platforms.
“He is not a child of Ooni Ogunwusi as fraudulently claimed and also never related in any way to any lineage of the Ogunwusi royal family and the Giesi royal compound of Ile-Ife at large.
“We categorically condemn and denounce this shameless act of impersonation in the strongest possible terms.
“It is imperative to clarify that the Ooni of Ife, as a responsible father and custodian of tradition, knows and acknowledges all his children and stops at nothing to take full responsibility for them (both those who are in Nigeria and outside the country).”
The palace listed all the children of the traditional ruler and their respective locations.
The palace also called in the Nigerian Police to investigate the matter and “bring the perpetrator to justice.”
“Impersonation of any member of the royal family is a sacrilege against the sanctity of the palace and the heritage it represents.
“While the palace leaves no stone unturned to go after this criminal using all possible means to scapegoat him, with a view to making him face the law for necessary deterrence, we hereby urge the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Nigerian Police Force and Department of State Security to thoroughly investigate this matter and bring the perpetrator to justice as swiftly as possible,” the statement added.
